Letter: Congress must counter Trump

This is a new year for Congress to actually get something done. Here is my list of priorities:

Time to censure or impeach Trump. His latest over-the-top tweet to North Korea is just another of his many inappropriate, reckless and dangerous tweets. He intimidates the FBI and the judiciary, threatens the free press, bullies friends and foes, wreaks havoc with international relations and defies expected norms of presidential behavior. But the biggest reason is that he is “truth challenged.” It is estimated he will have uttered over 2,000 untruths or misleading statements by the time his one-year anniversary rolls around. Trump daily demonstrates that he is incompetent to serve.

Protect Special Counsel Mueller. It is inconceivable that any responsible legislator would want to stop this investigation before it has been completed.

Pass CHIP immediately. There is no excuse to make poor children pawns in the political cesspool which Congress has become.

Pass a Clean Dream Act immediately. Again, punishing children for the mistakes made by their parents is cruel and immoral.

No Wall. Ever. Illegal border crossings are at an all time low. There is absolutely NO reason to waste money on a silly wall.

Protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The $1.5 trillion deficit that is forecast by providing tax relief for the 1 percent and big corporations must not become a reason to slash spending on safety net programs. The GOP created this deficit problem so that they could attack these programs. Shame on them!

Help Puerto Rico recover from the hurricanes. Congressional response has been weak at best, inhumane and heartless at worst.

Put science back in its rightful place at the EPA and other agencies where data and scientific expertise is essential to our national interests.

Stop the evisceration of the State Department. Now, more than ever, international relations depend on diplomacy. Trump, with his bluster and bullying, is the antithesis of diplomacy.

I look forward to the 2018 elections when the American people can voice their opinion with their votes if Congress refuses to act with integrity to counter the devastating impacts of this Trump presidency.